The Angel on Their Shoulders
by BlueSuedeShoes
Summary: ONESHOT written for a prompt from iluvaqt about the first time Chloe meets Cas. very VERY subtle chloe/castiel pairing.


**Author's Comment: I may have lost my mind by doing this pairing (which it's not a true pairing btw...just...I don't know...them in a story together with a pairing if you squint and tilt your head while pulling on your ear), but I stumbled across a couple of YouTube videos with the pair, and I got intrigued. (Just type in 'Chloe Castiel' to the YT search bar for the vids.) Anyway, this is also the result of a prompt a while ago from iluvaqt about the "first time Chloe meets Cas."**

**As always, thank you for bearing with my madness,**

**BlueSuede**

When Chloe saw a man standing in Watchtower, she should have been surprised, scared, concerned. Something. At the very least, she knew she shouldn't recognize him.

But she did. The man before her--handsome with a voice that stirred something inside of her--had appeared in her dreams several times now. She had brushed him off as a figment of her imagination.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded.

"It wasn't difficult," he said calmly, not directly answering her question.

Chloe bristled. It wasn't difficult? Her security was tighter than Fort Knox.

"You told me how last night," he amended, seeming to understand what she'd been thinking.

Chloe's mouth opened slightly in confusion.

"I'm Castiel," he reminded her.

Chloe backed up a step. "You're a figment of my imagination."

He smiled slightly. "I'm not."

Chloe shook her head, thoughts reeling wildly through her mind, each battling to be heard over the other.

"You are confused," he nodded. "Did you not recognize that your dreams were not of the usual variety?"

"Are you always so formal when you talk?" Chloe quipped, mild panic setting in that he was definitely the man from her dreams. For a week, he had been appearing to her, her dreams taking a standstill for him, and told her that her help was needed. Last night, she had finally caved in and told him how to come see her in the real world. She'd caved in after he convinced her...but no, that was absurd.

Castiel raised a patient eyebrow as he waited for her to sort out her thoughts. "Yes?"

"Who are you?"

"I told you already."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'd like to here it again."

"I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord."

Chloe scoffed. "See now, that's what I thought you'd say, but--but--" she stammered, searching for words that could express the impossibility of this situation.

"For someone whose so used to seeing impossible things, you'd think you'd have a more open mind after all this time," Castiel remarked casually.

Chloe rolled her eyes, heading for her couch, remembering she had nothing to worry about because there was a taser in her purse. "You'll forgive my skepticism when I'm awake. I've noticed that in all this time with all my near death experiences, I can't say I've ever encountered you when I might have needed you."

Castiel looked at her calmly. "Do you think you were brought into the paths of people like Clark Kent or Oliver Queen by mistake?"

Chloe started. "How do you know about Clark and Oliver?"

"I know about the whole Justice League, Chloe. I know about all the heroes--and villains--in your life. Just because you do not see the Lord does not mean He has not seen you."

Chloe studied him for a long time, seeming to size him up.

"You believe me. We both know that. You already believed me three days ago."

"Three days ago I was dreaming."

"That doesn't mean it isn't real."

"You're going to have to do better than that."

"You're a devout woman, Chloe Sullivan. You've prayed since your mother taught you how. Every day. Faithfully. Did you never think someone might be listening?"

"Of course I did, but His name isn't Castiel," she said sharply.

At this Castiel seemed strangely amused. For the first time he seemed properly human to her. "Well answered."

"What do you want here?" Chloe asked, not wanting to be sidetracked.

"I need your help."

"You can't be serious? What does an angel want with me?"

"I need you to talk to someone."

Chloe stared at him. "What?" she asked flatly.

"His name is Dean Winchester."

She continued to stare. When he said nothing further, she spoke again. "Right. And what exactly is it you want me to say to this Dean person?"

"You're still skeptical," he noted.

Chloe heaved an irritable sigh. "Because you won't get to the point. People asking me favors tends to be very demanding, so I'd like to know the whole deal."

Again there was that trace of amusement. "I need you to persuade him to save the world."

Chloe nearly choked on her own saliva. "Beg pardon?" she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You have a gift, Chloe, or haven't you noticed it before now?"

Her failure to respond made him press on.

"Chloe, you live in a world completely unlike that of the average woman in her mid-twenties. You keep the company of heroes. God put you in these people's lives for a purpose. You are the voice inside their heads that keeps them on the straight and narrow. You save them from themselves on countless occasions and at every turn you call on them to surpass themselves and to be heroes. That's what I'm asking you to do for Dean."

Chloe shook her head, trying to unscramble her thoughts. She realized her cheeks had tinged pink at the weighty compliment of the influence he thought she had on the people in her life.

She blinked and realized Castiel had sat down beside her. She turned to look him in the eyes and for a moment she caught her breath at there intensity.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"An angel of the Lord has been appearing in my dreams and is now making a house call. You expect me to believe that all you want is for me to have a little chat with Dan?"

"Dean," he corrected.

"Whatever."

"The 'catch' as you phrase it, I suppose, is that this is going to alter your life dramatically."

"How so?"

"I can't tell you."

Chloe huffed impatiently and then jumped when she heard him chuckle. "Really? This is funny to you?"

He shrugged slightly. "Your facial expressions are very vivid. I can tell you're annoyed."

"Gee, I'm glad I amuse you."

"Sorry."

Chloe buried her face in her hands, blocking him out so she could think. Then suddenly she lifted her head. "Hang on."

"To what?"

Chloe blinked and gave him a funny look. She wasn't sure if he was being serious or if he'd just cracked a joke, but she shook it off, a more important matter at hand. "You said you need this guy to save the world? From what, may I ask? And who exactly is he? Is he another superhero I need to babysit?" she demanded.

Castiel actually smiled--well, it was more of a smirk, really, but Chloe had the feeling it was the closest he got to smiling. "He is very far from being one of your superhuman playmates, Chloe."

"So who is he? And why is he supposed to save the world?"

"Because that's the way it has to happen."

"Do you ever give anything short of a completely cryptic response?"

"Sometimes. Maybe."

Chloe rolled her eyes, unable to tell if he were doing it on purpose. She looked in his eyes and was silent for a long time. Something inside of her was demanding she trust him, and if she were being honest with herself, she'd been subconsciously expecting to see him in the real world ever since the first time he appeared in her dreams.

He stood, as though knowing she had determined her answer. He looked at her expectantly, and Chloe stayed on the couch, looking up at him. "Why me?" she asked finally.

"Because you are a voice of reason in the midst of chaos. You are loyal to a point that is unfathomable. You will be able to call him to action in a way that no one else has been able to do. And because you were chosen to do this."

Something in the words stirred her. Maybe he was lying, knew that calling her to a higher purpose was the one sure-fire way to persuade her, but she couldn't explain it: she trusted him. She could care less about who he was taking her to see or what on earth she had to do with him. And yet, "Take me with you. I'll go."

And they were gone. With a sound of brushing wings, Chloe Sullivan allowed Castiel to lead her to a higher calling.


End file.
